Lejeune girls also lose

Lejeune’s Alex Ynfante (22) delivers a pass in the first half of the Devilpups’ 55-48 loss to Northside-Pinetown on Thursday night.

Chris Miller/The Daily News

By Chris Miller/The Daily News-Prep Sports Writer

Published: Friday, January 24, 2014 at 10:00 AM.

This was a bittersweet feeling for Joey Malott.

While the Lejeune boys’ basketball coach was pleased with the Devilpups’ second-half effort Thursday night in a 55-48 loss to Northside-Pinetown, Malott was left wondering what could have been if his squad only played that well in the first half.

“We had a heart-to-heart in the locker room at halftime and I asked the guys to come out and play the way I know they can play,” Malott said. “In the second half we were a completely different ball team and we actually came out and played basketball. In the first half we were flat, we weren’t there and we weren’t communicating.”

Lejeune trailed this Coastal Plains 1-A Conference game 32-16 at halftime and then watched as the Panthers scored the first four points of the third quarter to take a 20-point lead.

Down 47-31 early in the fourth quarter, the Devilpups got hot. Lejeune’s Eli St. John completed a three-point play and then made a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 Devilpups’ run that cut the visitors' lead to 47-39 with 6:20 left.

After a basket by 6-foot-9 sophomore Edrice Adebayo – a heavy NCAA Division I prospect for the Panthers – Lejeune’s Jason Pullen made a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run that brought the Devilpups to within 49-46 with 5:03 left.

However, the Devilpups (2-12, 1-4) managed just one more field goal down the stretch as the Panthers (13-2, 3-2) were able to hang on for the win.

Earlier, the Lejeune girls’ team lost 59-44 to Northside.

Pullen led the Lejeune boys’ team with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. St. John added 16 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter while Jamaz Richardson had 10 points.

“Eli and Jason are both our sharpshooters,” Malott said. “They can knock it down and they are getting more comfortable as the season goes along. I have a lot of confidence in them. I tell them they are always open, no matter where they are on the floor.

“Jamaz brings the speed for us. It’s a matter of controlling tempo.”

However, it was Northside-Pinetown that controlled things in the first half, thanks in large part to Adebayo, who is ranked No. 11 in the nation by ESPN in the class of 2016 and has drawn interest from North Carolina.

Adebayo, who gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the first five seconds on an alley-oop slam dunk, finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

“It’s tough,” Malott said to prepare for Adebayo. “I tried to get some teachers from our school who were tall enough (to come to practice) and we brought out the broom sticks. We tried to replicate him as best we could.

“The defensive strategy we had, it worked. We just came out flat in the first half, but in the second half it proved to have worked.”

Girls

Lejeune coach Kevin Popadines called this a learning experience and a game he’s “never coached” before.

The Devilpups lost a CPC contest to Northside-Pinetown that was delayed for about 50 minutes after the end of the third quarter because smoke was detected in a classroom next to the gym. Lejeune trailed 42-33 entering the fourth quarter.

It was determined the smoke was caused by an electrical issue, according to the Camp Lejeune Fire Department.

The gym was later ruled safe. When play resumed, Northside opened the fourth quarter on a 15-0 run.

“This was a situation we are not used to,” Popadines said. “I figured with the break that somebody would come out a little bit cold because there was only a five-minute warm-up and unfortunately it was us.”

Northside-Pinetown scored the game’s first seven points, but the Devilpups got to within 18-17 in the middle of the second quarter. That’s when Lejeune leading scorer Nikia Wallace was taken out of the game. She never returned.

While the Lejeune boys’ basketball coach was pleased with the Devilpups’ second-half effort Thursday night in a 55-48 loss to Northside-Pinetown, Malott was left wondering what could have been if his squad only played that well in the first half.

“We had a heart-to-heart in the locker room at halftime and I asked the guys to come out and play the way I know they can play,” Malott said. “In the second half we were a completely different ball team and we actually came out and played basketball. In the first half we were flat, we weren’t there and we weren’t communicating.”

Lejeune trailed this Coastal Plains 1-A Conference game 32-16 at halftime and then watched as the Panthers scored the first four points of the third quarter to take a 20-point lead.

Down 47-31 early in the fourth quarter, the Devilpups got hot. Lejeune’s Eli St. John completed a three-point play and then made a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 Devilpups’ run that cut the visitors' lead to 47-39 with 6:20 left.

After a basket by 6-foot-9 sophomore Edrice Adebayo – a heavy NCAA Division I prospect for the Panthers – Lejeune’s Jason Pullen made a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run that brought the Devilpups to within 49-46 with 5:03 left.

However, the Devilpups (2-12, 1-4) managed just one more field goal down the stretch as the Panthers (13-2, 3-2) were able to hang on for the win.

Earlier, the Lejeune girls’ team lost 59-44 to Northside.

Pullen led the Lejeune boys’ team with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. St. John added 16 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter while Jamaz Richardson had 10 points.

“Eli and Jason are both our sharpshooters,” Malott said. “They can knock it down and they are getting more comfortable as the season goes along. I have a lot of confidence in them. I tell them they are always open, no matter where they are on the floor.

“Jamaz brings the speed for us. It’s a matter of controlling tempo.”

However, it was Northside-Pinetown that controlled things in the first half, thanks in large part to Adebayo, who is ranked No. 11 in the nation by ESPN in the class of 2016 and has drawn interest from North Carolina.

Adebayo, who gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the first five seconds on an alley-oop slam dunk, finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

“It’s tough,” Malott said to prepare for Adebayo. “I tried to get some teachers from our school who were tall enough (to come to practice) and we brought out the broom sticks. We tried to replicate him as best we could.

“The defensive strategy we had, it worked. We just came out flat in the first half, but in the second half it proved to have worked.”

Girls

Lejeune coach Kevin Popadines called this a learning experience and a game he’s “never coached” before.

The Devilpups lost a CPC contest to Northside-Pinetown that was delayed for about 50 minutes after the end of the third quarter because smoke was detected in a classroom next to the gym. Lejeune trailed 42-33 entering the fourth quarter.

It was determined the smoke was caused by an electrical issue, according to the Camp Lejeune Fire Department.

The gym was later ruled safe. When play resumed, Northside opened the fourth quarter on a 15-0 run.

“This was a situation we are not used to,” Popadines said. “I figured with the break that somebody would come out a little bit cold because there was only a five-minute warm-up and unfortunately it was us.”

Northside-Pinetown scored the game’s first seven points, but the Devilpups got to within 18-17 in the middle of the second quarter. That’s when Lejeune leading scorer Nikia Wallace was taken out of the game. She never returned.